The sky on
your birthday.
Lantern Saturn
Saturn's familiar rings are almost invisible in this false-color infrared view from the Cassini spacecraft, seen edge-on. The most striking feature is along the terminator, the line between day and night. On the day side, blue-green hues show sunlight reflected from Saturn's cloud tops. This image uses data from Cassini's Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS).
We cannot put this date's photograph on paper at poster size. We can print the nearest public archive plate to your date instead.
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Released on your day
Space pictures released on your month and day in other years, or a few days either side. Each one is sharp enough to print as a poster.
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The Sun on your day The Sun on 31 May 2012 See it as a poster -
The Earth on your day The Earth on 31 May 2012 · Red Sea See it as a poster -
Released on 31 May 2010 The massive compact star cluster in NGC 3603 and its surroundings See it as a poster -
Released on 31 May 2018 Peculiar galaxy NGC 3256 See it as a poster -
Released on 31 May 2018 Wide-field image of NGC 3256 (ground-based image) See it as a poster -
Released on 31 May 2021 The Eponymous NGC 691 See it as a poster -
Released on 31 May 2026 Eagle Nebula Pillars in Infrared from Hubble See it as a poster
In tropical astrology, 31 MAY 2012 falls under Gemini (♊). The sign's window runs from 05-21 through 06-20. Gemini is named for the twin stars Castor and Pollux, both bright enough to spot without a telescope. The Sun was crossing this region of the sky on 31 MAY 2012.
Questions about May 31, 2012
What space photo was released on May 31, 2012?
NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for May 31, 2012 was "Lantern Saturn". It's the card at the top of this page.
What was the Moon's phase on May 31, 2012?
A waxing gibbous moon, about 81% lit.
What day of the week was May 31, 2012?
May 31, 2012 was a Thursday, day 152 of the 366 days in 2012.
What did the Sun and the Earth look like on May 31, 2012?
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed the Sun that day, and NASA's Terra satellite photographed the whole Earth. Both are on this page, next to the card.
Is it free?
Yes. Seeing, sharing and downloading the card is free, and there's no account to make.